Fixture-support.



F. A. GODFREY.

FIXTURE SUPPORT.

APPLICATION man 02c. 19. 1911.

Patented Feb. 18,1919.

To all whom it may concern:

U IT D STATES? PATENT F v I rnnnnnicx a uonmnx, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

' rrx'rUnn-su'rronr.

Be it known that I, FREDERICK G oi my, eitizen of the United .States,j=res1d1ng at Chicago, Illinois,jha.v e= invented; certain-f. new and useful Improvements in'Fixture Supports; and I do hereby declare the fol-' lowing to be a fulL-clear, and exact descripf .used'in wall or ceiling constructions not in eluding conveniently disposed timbers, I aim "toprovide simple means for anchoring a portion of the stud in the concrete and for .clamping the-outlet box to the stud. Furtion of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which t appertains to make and use the same.-

My invention relates appliances used in connection with eleetrlc wir ng, and particularly to those used for the supporting of electricfixtures and the connecting. of the latter to Wires run inconduits. For this J class oif 'work, it has long beencustomary to employ socalled outlet boxes 'made 0f steel or iron and having apertures opening into the conduits; also to employ threaded studs for supporting the piping or stem of the fixture. On'ceiling work, it has been customary to fasten the oulet box to the ceiling Y with its opening directed downwardly, and

to. suspend the fixture-supporting stud from the outlet'box by bolts extending upwardly through the base of the stud and through the closed end or top of the outlet box. Conse'quently, the firmness with which the fix ture was-supported has depended both upon theflstrengthof the supporting bolts and upon; the proper tightening of the latter.

In aiming-to secure this] desired firmnessfit has been-customary to employ four bolts for sis v connecting the stud to the outlet box, thereby requiring considerable time in the assembling. Where'theregulations imposed by trades unions require this assembling to be done by the men on the job, the high wage rate ahd the inconvenience haveincreased the cost of the required time to an item which grows large in size where manyoutlet' boxes To reduce this expenditure,

to reduce the number of belts or other auxiliary fastening -elements. It'also airns to provide types of fixture studs suitable interchangeably for use where the outlet box is fastened to a timber, or where 1t is to be-suspended from an anchor embedded inQconcrete. Forthe former case, my inventlon I aims to provide a fixture stud having a head adapted to'rest on the top of the down-. wardly open outlet box, to provide simple means for clamping this head to the top of l Specification of Letters'latent. Patented Feb, 18, 1919; Application filed December 19, 1917. Serial No. 202,844.

v Y theioutletbox, to provide simple means for preventing the stud from rotating with re- ,7 spect to thefloutljet-fbox while being clamped in position, and toprovide means .for simultaneously securing both the stud. and the box to the adjacent timber.

Likewise, where my lnvention is to be ther objects or my invention will appear from the following specification and from the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is aperspective view of a fixture stud embodying my invention and adapted interchangeablyforuse on timbers and for anchoring in concrete.

Fig. 2. is a fragmentary vertical section to according to my invention.

Fi 3 is a similar section showing my invention as used in securing an outlet box and afixture stem to a timber concealed in the wall or ceiling, and also showing the method of wiring. I

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through Fig. 3, looking upward from the line r Fig. 5 is afragmentary view showing th 1 top of an outlet box and a fixture stud designed only for use on concrete walls or ceilin s. v u

11 its general aspects, my inventlon is readily applicable to standard types of out let boxes, which boxes usually are substantially cylindrical and equipped in their sides with perforationsthrough which the wires may enter. Each such box also com -monly hasin its closed ends a. central' openin and four: smaller openings spaced ed for receiving the shanks-of screws. 'In carrying out my invention, I desirably emthrough aportionof a concrete wall or ceil- 'ing and through a conduit box securedthereequally distant from the former and'adaptv i ploy a stud'having a threaded shank 1 integral with a base of considerably larger diameter. This base desirablyhas a pair 0t wings 2 diametrically opposite each other and equipped with perforations matching of the stud and adapted to enter one pair two of the centrally opposed perforations in of screw holes in the top of the outlet when the shank of the stud is inser-ted through the-centralopening of this top, sub: stantially as shown in Fig. 3. To fur .ther improve the alinement, I preferably form a flange. 4 on the base of the stud,

which flange fits the said central opening in the top .of the outlet box. When the stud is thus slipped into position, with the projections 3 extending respectively through two of the screw holes in this top, the perforations in the wings 2 will aline with the other pair of these screw holes, thus making it easy to fasten both the outlet box and the stud to the timber 5 by screws 6 extending upwardly through the said top and the Wings 2 into the timber. In making this fastening, the fiat end surface of the base of the stud affords a square bearing against 1 leverage exertedthrough a side pressure on a fixture stem 7 of any considerable length might tend to loosen this clamping.

' To avoid this, I preferably employ a nut 8 threaded upon this stud and engaging the under face of the top of the box. The fixture stem 7. is desirably connected to the shank l of. the stud through an insulating joint 9, which joint provides suitableopenings for the Wires entering rom' conduit .10 extending'through the lateral openings of thebox and "clamped to the latter.

Where my invention is to be employed in reinforced concrete construction, I desirably .extend the shank l of the stud through the top 11 of the box for a considerably shorter distance than the length of the shank, and

clamp this top of the box between nuts 8 and 12 threaded upon the shank. By so doing, I provide considerable space between the base of the stud and the top of the box, thereby permitting concrete to fill this space and to afford a support for the base of the stud, the

base of which then acts as an anchor. When thus anchored, it willbe obvious that I both the non-circularshape ofthe base and the projections 3 will hold the base against rotation, so that it will not be loosened by the attaching or unscrewing of the insulating joint 9, orof any fixture portioncarried by the latter.

However, while I have shown and described my invention as including a mainelement having a threaded 'shank of ample length for permitting the stud to be used interchangeably ori-timbered ceilings and in- 'concrete ceilings, and while I have pictured the base of the stud as substantially cross-' shaped, I do not wish to be limited to this or other details of the construction and arrangement here described, it being obvious that the same might be modified in many] ways without departing from the. spirit For example, I Fig. 5"

of my invention. shows a simplified form of stud designed only for use on concrete walls or ceilings,

- and requiring only a single nut 8 for clamping the top of the box to a flange 13 on the stud. In this case, the stud desirably car ries a series of transverse arms 14 near its upper end, which arms will afford the needed anchorage for supporting the stud and the various elements secured to the latter. In each case, I have pictured the studs the weight and enabling me to secure a good annealing when ,using malleable iron. In practice, I have fdund that there is no objecti-on to. such a hollow stud. .even for embedding in concrete, as the concrete will only enter the bore for acomparatively short depth and will not pass through to a .point ,where it might interfere with the connecting of other elements to the lower end of the stud. Of course, it will also be obviousthat while I have pictured my invention as used closed end a main aperture surrounded by secondary apertures, a fixture stud. having a base adapted to rest upon the said closed end and having a shank projecting downwardly through said main aperture, the said base having projections entering certain of the secondary apertures and perforations alining with other secondary apertures.

2. In combination a downwardly open outlet box having a perforation in its closed end, a fixture-supporting stud having a shank extending downwardly through the said perforation and having a base resting upon the said closed end, cooperating means upon thebase of the stud and the said end of the box for preventing'relative rotation thereof, and separate means for clamping the said end and base to each other.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, December 11th,1917.

FREDERICK A. GODFREY. 

